Prayers For The Rick Burgess Family

The Rick and Bubba radio personality website out of Birmingham, Alabama has posted that Rick’s youngest son died yesterday (He was around 2 years old). Click here for the Rick and Bubba website and here to read the report (Jan 20,2008).

I’m not sure if there is anything that causes us more shock and grief than when something like this happens. This is true for people who are believers as well as unbelievers. People question how a good and loving God could allow or cause such an event.

Aside: Last Sunday I started a message series, “Hooks On Which I Hang My Hat.” It is designed to help people through the most difficult times of life… times like this. The first message is titled “Life is Tough, God Is Tougher” and can be read by clicking here. Another is titled: “God Is Good” (Put that statement in the context of the life tragedies. That’s what I hope to address in the message.).

This is the age old question that has been discussed and debated for centuries. My goal in this post is short and direct for the members of WABC. Here they are…

1. Pray for the Burgess family. Ask God to give them strength and comfort.

2. Pray for how Rick and Bubba will talk about this on the radio. A lot of people listen to them and they have a unique opportunity to proclaim the Gospel in a way that could have a tremendous positive impact.

3. Hug your family… none of us knows what each day holds.

4. Below are a couple of studies I’ve written in the past on similar situations. They are thought starters and not intended to be the end all to answer our questions. Since they’ve been written, I have matured in certain areas so please keep that in mind as you read. If you have questions, post them in the comments section or email me. Here are the studies…

“If God is good, then how is THIS good?” (Click here) Written when a young teenager was killed in a bicycle wreck in Oxford.

“When tragedies happen to Christians” (Click here) This is about the Space Shuttle Columbia.

“Tying a knot in your rope when you’re at the end” (Click here) A study I wrote for me…

May God grant the Burgess family his special comfort and peace in the most difficult time of life.

Romans 8:31-39… What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

3 Comments

I think you have the right idea. I always try to think of the saying live each to its fullest for we never know which moment will be our last. I listen to the Rick and Bubba show everyday and I just can’t believe what happened. I still have a hard time belving what happened. My prayers and my familys prayers our with the Burgess family and I hope that they make it through this. I just want you to know that we knew Cornbread [Bronner] through Rick on their show. It is a terrible thing and my prayers are with you and yopur family. It is horrible when you lose a loved one. I have one piece of advice that I was given when my grandfather died. He would not want you crying for them down here, He is now with Jesus Christ and is looking down on you and helping you along.

Heather,

Thank you for your comment! One of the things I’ve been impressed by as I have listened to Bubba about this evil event is that it’s all about God and Jesus. They don’t want any of the glory or attention, but rather desire to point people to Christ for salvation. The person who helps us is God… no… the person who sustains us and carries us is God. No… everything that we do and are and will become are because of God’s power. As it is written in 2 Corinthians 3:4-5, “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God…” (ESV) Another passage is 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (ESV) Thank you again for your comment!

This is such a terrible thing to happen. I agree with you brother that they have a great deal of influence and the way in which they handle this will have great impact. This is proof postive that we live in a broken world and Jesus is the answer.